Closing summary
Debt ceiling negotiations seem to be on track, at least if you ask Republican House speaker Kevin McCarthy. Some Democrats aren’t so sure. In the Senate, 11 lawmakers say Joe Biden should consider invoking the constitution’s 14th amendment to prevent a default, rather than agreeing to GOP-devised spending cuts. And in the House, just about every Democrat has signed on to a discharge petition that would force a vote on raising the ceiling without preconditions. But it needs the defections of at least a few Republicans to succeed, and thus far, that support has not emerged.
Here’s what else happened today:
Ron DeSantis is finally getting it over with: the Florida governor will announce his presidential bid next week, according to multiple reports.
Progressive Democrats remain displeased with the prospect of implementing new work requirements for government aid programs as part of a debt limit deal.
CNN’s Christiane Amanpour was not happy with how her network handled the town hall with Donald Trump last week.
California Democratic senator Dianne Feinstein’s health may be worse than publicly known, the New York Times reports.
The House Freedom Caucus says no negotiations with Democrats until the Senate passes the GOP’s bill to raise the debt ceiling while cutting spending and implementing a number of conservative policies – a nonstarter for Democrats.
Disney axes $1bn Florida development amid spat with DeSantis
As Florida governor Ron DeSantis prepares to announce a presidential campaign where he will sell voters on his controversial governance of the southern state, Disney today announced they were cancelling a billion-dollar office project in Orlando amid a fight with his administration.
According to the New York Times, a top Disney executive cited “changing business conditions” for axing the project, which would have seen about 1,000 employees relocated from Southern California. The company has been feuding with DeSantis since last year, when it spoke out against his so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law, and last month sued his administration over actions they said illegally targeted their business in the state.
That matter is ongoing, but as the Times reports, Disney executives have made clear that they are willing to reconsider their longstanding relationship with the state over DeSantis’s policies. Here’s more from the Times:
In March, Disney called Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida “anti-business” for his scorched-earth attempt to tighten oversight of the company’s theme park resort near Orlando. Last month, when Disney sued the governor and his allies for what it called “a targeted campaign of government retaliation,” the company made clear that $17 billion in planned investment in Walt Disney World was on the line.
“Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people, and pay more taxes, or not?” Robert A. Iger, Disney’s chief executive, said on an earnings-related conference call with analysts last week.
On Thursday, Mr. Iger and Josh D’Amaro, Disney’s theme park and consumer products chairman, showed that they were not bluffing, pulling the plug on a nearly $1 billion office complex that was scheduled for construction in Orlando. It would have brought more than 2,000 jobs to the region, with $120,000 as the average salary, according to an estimate from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.
The project, known as the Lake Nona Town Center, was supposed to involve the relocation of more than 1,000 employees from Southern California, including most of a department known as Imagineering, which works with Disney’s movie studios to develop theme park attractions. Most of the affected employees complained bitterly about having to move — some quit — but Disney largely held firm, partly because of a Florida tax credit that would have allowed the company to recoup as much as $570 million over 20 years for building and occupying the complex.
Another group of conservative lawmakers has issued demands in the ongoing debt ceiling negotiations, specifically that congressional leaders include new measures to crack on migrants in whatever legislative compromise emerges.
The letter to Joe Biden and the top Democrats and Republicans in Congress including Kevin McCarthy was signed by 57 Republican House lawmakers, and asks that they consider including provisions of the Secure the Border Act in their negotiations.
“American taxpayers should not be forced to foot the bill for the rapidly growing illegal immigration crisis. Thus, we support the inclusion of common-sense border security and immigration reforms in negotiations to raise the debt ceiling,” the congress members write.
The bill, which passed with Republican votes in the House last month, would restart construction of Donald Trump’s border wall and increase Border Patrol funding, among other provisions. As is the case with much of what passes the House these days, Senate Democrats say they’ll oppose it.
Updated
The far-right House Freedom Caucus wants Kevin McCarthy to stop negotiating with Democrats over raising the debt ceiling until the Senate passes the GOP’s Limit, Save, Grow Act.
The legislation, which would cut spending, scrap Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan and implement other conservative priorities while raising the debt limit only through next March, passed the House on a party line vote last month, but Senate Democrats have rejected it and the president has threatened a veto.
The impasse led to this week’s decision by McCarthy and Biden to appoint negotiators to find an agreement both parties could support, but the Freedom Caucus – which includes several members that objected to McCarthy’s election as speaker of the House earlier this year – insists the Limit, Save, Grow Act should take priority.
Here’s their letter:
House Republicans did our job on debt ceiling.
— House Freedom Caucus (@freedomcaucus) May 18, 2023
It's time for President Biden and Senate Democrats to do theirs and pass the Limit, Save, Grow Act.
No more discussion on watering it down. Period. pic.twitter.com/pphcbdKy0k
Amid continued focus on the health of the California senator Dianne Feinstein, who recently returned to Washington after a long absence with shingles, the New York Times reports that the 89-year-old, who has appeared frail and sometimes confused, continues to be the cause of much concern for her party:
The grim tableau of her re-emergence on Capitol Hill laid bare a bleak reality known to virtually everyone who has come into contact with her in recent days: She was far from ready to return to work when she did, and she is now struggling to function in a job that demands long days, near-constant engagement on an array of crucial policy issues and high-stakes decision-making.
Ms Feinstein’s office declined to comment for this article beyond providing a statement from the senator: “I’m back in Washington, voting and attending committee meetings while I recover from complications related to a shingles diagnosis. I continue to work and get results for California.”
The Times also notes the resurfacing of “questions about whether Ms Feinstein, who has announced she will retire when her term ends next year, is fit to continue serving even for that long”.
Feinstein’s absence hamstrung Democrats on the Senate judiciary committee, on which she sits. On Wednesday its chair, Dick Durbin, told CNN: “We’re happy to have her back. We’re monitoring her medical condition almost on a daily basis. Our staff is in touch with her staff.”
Senior Democrats including the former House intelligence chair and impeachment lead Adam Schiff are running to succeed Feinstein but, the Times report says somewhat mordantly: “People close to her joke privately that perhaps when Ms Feinstein is dead, she will start to consider resigning.”
Here’s more, from Arwa Mahdawi…
At his press conference on Capitol Hill, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont was asked by a reporter about concerns that his proposal to invoke the 14th amendment to address the debt ceiling would face legal challenges.
“I think it’s the best solution we have,” Sanders replied. “It’s not perfect.”
Sanders said he did not have any details about a potential debt ceiling deal between Joe Biden and House speaker Kevin McCarthy, but Democrats emphasized that any proposal with welfare cuts would not be tolerated.
“If the bottom line is that the only deal to be had that McCarthy will sign on to is one in which ordinary families are savaged and in which the economy is flooded with fossil fuels, that is unacceptable,” said Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon.
Asked if he had spoken to the White House about his proposal to use the 14th amendment, Sanders said he had but declined to elaborate.
Eleven Democratic senators have signed a letter calling on Joe Biden to invoke the 14th amendment of the constitution to address the debt ceiling and avoid a disastrous default.
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and his co-signers held a press conference on Capitol Hill to make their case.
Sanders noted the 14th amendment states that the public debt of the United States “shall not be questioned,” arguing the policy empowers Biden to unilaterally act on the debt ceiling.
“[Republicans] have made it clear that they are prepared to hold our entire economy hostage unless the president gives in to all of their demands,” Sanders said.
“Using the 14th amendment would allow the United States to continue to pay its bills on time and without delay, prevent an economic catastrophe and prevent devastating cuts to some of the most vulnerable people in this country. It should be exercised.”
The day so far
Debt ceiling negotiations seem to be on track, at least if you ask Republican House speaker Kevin McCarthy. Some Democrats aren’t so sure. In the Senate, 11 lawmakers say Joe Biden should consider invoking the constitution’s 14th amendment to prevent a default, rather than agreeing to GOP-devised spending cuts. And in the House, just about every Democrat has signed on to a discharge petition that would force a vote on raising the ceiling without preconditions. But it needs the defections of at least a few Republicans to succeed, and thus far, that support has not emerged.
Here’s what else has happened today so far:
Ron DeSantis is finally getting it over with: the Florida governor will announce his presidential bid next week, according to multiple reports.
Progressive Democrats remain unhappy with the prospect of implementing new work requirements for government aid programs as part of a debt limit deal.
CNN’s Christiane Amanpour was not happy with how her network handled the town hall with Donald Trump last week.
Updated
Meanwhile in the House, Democrats are pushing forward with a parliamentary maneuver intended to force a vote on raising the debt ceiling without preconditions.
The party had yesterday encouraged its lawmakers to sign a discharge petition filed in the chamber, and in an interview with MSNBC yesterday, House Democrat Brendan Boyle, who is leading the effort, said the document has so far received 210 signatures.
It needs a majority of 218 signers to pass, and what Democrats are banking on here is that some Republicans will eventually come on board, perhaps moderates who are nervous about the prospect of the US economy defaulting, or rattled by the demands of the House GOP’s far-right members. But there hasn’t been any sign of those defections – yet.
Here’s more from Boyle’s interview with MSNBC:
American families cannot afford the devastating consequences of defaulting on our nation's bills.@HouseDemocrats are going to do everything in our power to prevent MAGA Republicans from tanking our economy and killing millions of jobs. pic.twitter.com/kDglN03QsG
— Rep. Brendan Boyle (@CongBoyle) May 18, 2023
Democratic senators urge Biden to consider 14th amendment in debt standoff
Eleven Democratic senators have signed a letter to Joe Biden urging him to consider invoking the 14th amendment to prevent the United States from defaulting if the debt ceiling is not raised.
The letter, which first became public yesterday, was signed by Democrats Tina Smith, Elizabeth Warren, Jeff Merkley, Ed Markey, Mazie Hirono, Peter Welch, Richard Blumenthal, Jack Reed, Sheldon Whitehouse, John Fetterman and Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats.
“The choice we face is clear. We cannot reach a budget agreement that increases the suffering of millions of Americans who are already living in desperation,” the lawmakers write in the letter, which accuses Republicans of “not acting in good faith”.
“We write to urgently request that you prepare to exercise your authority under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, which clearly states: ‘the validity of the public debt of the United States ... shall not be questioned,’” the signatories conclude.
“Using this authority would allow the United States to continue to pay its bills on-time, without delay, preventing a global economic catastrophe.”
Speaking of CNN, one of its best known anchors is apparently not a fan of how it handled last week’s town hall with Donald Trump, the Guardian’s Gloria Oladipo reports:
The CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour has strongly criticized her own network for hosting a town-hall event with Donald Trump last week, saying she had “a very robust exchange of views” with Chris Licht, the chief executive under fire for approving and then defending the decision to stage it.
Amanpour, giving the commencement address at Columbia Journalism School in New York on Wednesday, said in comments reported by Variety: “We know Trump and his tendencies – everyone does. He just seizes the stage and dominates.
“No matter how much flak the moderator tries to aim at the incoming, it doesn’t often work. I would have dropped the mic at ‘nasty person’, but then that’s me.”
If Democrats and Republicans are indeed on the path to reaching an agreement to increase the debt ceiling, they’ll have to overcome the thorny issue of work requirements for anti-poverty programs.
The GOP wants to tighten rules for recipients of aid such as SNAP or TANF to have to work, arguing that’s the best way out of poverty. A major government study released last year disputed this, while many Democrats, particularly progressives, say such requirements would be unacceptable to them.
Here’s House Democrat Katie Porter saying so, in an interview with CNN:
“I think President Biden should hold the line on this,” Rep. Katie Porter tells @PoppyHarlowCNN regarding Republican demands for stricter work requirements for federal aid in a debt limit deal. pic.twitter.com/yfghifvHTO
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) May 18, 2023
McCarthy: 'I see the path' to debt ceiling deal
The Republican House speake,r Kevin McCarthy, told reporters at the Capitol that he sees “the path” towards a deal with Democrats to raise the debt ceiling.
Here’s video of the exchange, from CNN:
News — For the first time, Speaker McCarthy sounding positive about direction of debt talks. He just told us “I see a path” to a deal. Wants a bill on floor next week. Very positive about WH negotiators Young and Ricchetti. Has spoken to Schumer about floor schedule and timing pic.twitter.com/rKY1A9Ooqq
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) May 18, 2023
Congress has till about 1 June to raise the US government’s legal limit on how much debt it can take on or face the prospect of a default. Republicans want Joe Biden and his allies to agree to cut spending, and also to scrap administration priorities such as the president’s plan to cancel some federal student debt.
After months of refusing to negotiate, Biden agreed to appoint deputies to reach a deal with McCarthy’s team, and if the speaker’s comments are any indication, those talks are paying off.
Updated
Ron DeSantis’s latest attempts to swing elections may have floundered, but he’s been more successful at getting lawmakers in Florida to react to his demands.
As the Guardian’s Sam Levine reported earlier this week, his Republican allies, who control both the state Senate and House of Representatives, have approved laws that will allow DeSantis to remain governor while running for president, and also reduce scrutiny of his campaign financing.
Here’s more from Sam’s story:
DeSantis is poised to sign a bill that would exempt him from Florida’s “resign-to-run” law, so that he won’t have to give up his office in order to run for president. Under existing state law, if he were to run, DeSantis would have had to submit a resignation letter before Florida’s qualifying deadline this year and step down by inauguration day in 2025. Last month, Republicans in the state legislature passed a measure that says the restriction does not apply to those running for president or vice-president.
The bill also imposes sweeping new voting restrictions in the state and will make it much harder for non-profits to do voter registration drives.
“I can’t think of a better training ground than the state of Florida for a future potential commander-in-chief,” Tyler Sirois, a Republican state lawmaker, said when the bill was being debated.
Some Democrats questioned why lawmakers would allow DeSantis to take his attention away from being governor. “Why are we signing off on allowing Ron DeSantis the ability to not do his job?” Angie Nixon, a legislator from Jacksonville, said last month.
DeSantis also signed a bill last week that will shield records related to his travel from public view. The new law exempts all of DeSantis’s past and future travel from disclosure under Florida’s public records law, one of the most transparent in the US. It also exempts the state from having to disclose the names of people who meet with the governor at his office or mansion or travel with him, said Barbara Petersen, the executive director of the Florida Center for Government Accountability, who has worked on transparency laws for more than three decades in the state.
Republican lawmakers and DeSantis have cited security concerns to justify the law. But Democrats and transparency advocates have said it is a brazen effort to keep DeSantis’s travel secret.
As Ron DeSantis gears up for a likely presidential bid, the rightwing Florida governor has suffered a few political blows in recent days in his state and beyond.
On Tuesday, voters in Jacksonville, Florida elected their first female mayor, Donna Deegan, a Democrat who beat Republican Daniel Davis despite the endorsements of DeSantis and a handful of business leaders.
“Love won tonight, and we made history,” Deegan said as she won the election.
“We have a new day in Jacksonville because people chose unity over division – creating a broad coalition of people across the political spectrum that want a unified city,” she added.
Meanwhile, in Kentucky, the Florida governor suffered another blow when Donald Trump-backed Daniel Cameron won against DeSantis-backed Kelly Craft in the state’s Republican primary.
Cameron, the first major-party Black nominee for governor in Kentucky, will face off against Democratic incumbent Andy Beshear in November.
Marjorie Taylor Greene has said that being called a “white supremacist” by New York representative Jamaal Bowman is equivalent to a person of color being called the “N-word.”
On Wednesday, Greene and Bowman got into a shouting match on the Capitol steps with Bowman and New York representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, both Democrats who called for Republican New York representative George Santos’s resignation following his recent indictment on federal charges of wire fraud and money laundering, among other charges.
“Save the party!” Bowman yelled as Greene shouted, “Save the country!” At one point, Bowman told Greene, who has spread various conspiracy theories, “No more QAnon, no more MAGA, no more debt ceiling nonsense.”
Minutes after, Greene pointed to her temple and said, “Hey let me tell you something Jamaal. Not very smart.”
Addressing the interaction afterwards, Greene said:
“I was swarmed. It’s all on video. Everyone can see this, but I will tell you what’s on video is Jamaal Bowman shouting at the top of his lungs, cursing calling me … horrible … calling me a white supremacist, which I take great offense to. That is like calling a person of color the n-word, which should never happen. Calling me a white supremacist is equal to that. And that is wrong.”
Marjorie Taylor Greene says that when people like Jamaal Bowman call her a white supremacist it's "like calling a person a color the n-word"
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 18, 2023
"His physical mannerisms are aggressive ... I feel threatened by him," Greene adds of Bowman pic.twitter.com/c0JtNN0Z5R
Updated
Banking regulators testifying before the Senate banking committee on Thursday morning proposed a slew of recommendations that would strengthen regulation and supervision in light of Signature Bank and Silicone Valley Bank’s financial collapse.
“The underlying issue was concern about insolvency … Stronger capital will guard against the risk that we may not fully appreciate today. And we’ll also reduce the costs of bank failures,” said Michael Barr, the second vice chair of the Federal Reserve for supervision.
“In addition, we need to reconsider our prudential requirements. These include evaluating how we treat available for sale securities and our capital regulations, how we supervise and regulate a bank’s management of interest rate risk, how we supervise and regulate liquidity risk and how we oversee incentive compensation practices,” he added.
“Supervision should intensify at the right pace as a bank grows in size or complexity. Once identified issues should be addressed more quickly both by the bank and by supervisors. Moreover, we need to ensure that we have a culture that empowers supervisors to act in the face of uncertainty,” he continued.
Updated
DeSantis gears up to face Trump directly with launch of presidential bid
Florida governor Ron DeSantis is set to officially launch his 2024 presidential bid, according to multiple reports citing sources familiar with the matter.
One Republican source told CNN that the Republican governor will file candidacy paperwork next week with the Federal Election Commission and is set to make an official announcement in his home town of Dunedin, Florida, the following week.
The reports follow DeSantis’s visit to Iowa last week where he participated in a public gathering hosted US House representative Randy Feenstra in the crucial early-voting stage. Prior to his visit, DeSantis rolled out a hefty list of endorsements from 37 Republican Iowa lawmakers, including senate president Amy Sinclair and house majority leader Matt Windschitl.
“I think we need to restore sanity in this country,” DeSantis told a crowd of Iowa supporters last week, adding, “We must reject the culture of losing that has impacted our party in recent years. The time for excuses is over.”
DeSantis’s comments appeared to be a subtle jab at Donald Trump, currently the Republican frontrunner who has repeatedly attacked his ex-ally and is currently leading in the polls. Should DeSantis enter the presidential race, he will become Trump’s chief challenger.
In the past year, DeSantis has ramped up his “culture war” in Florida, from signing the state’s so-called “don’t say gay” bill into law to approving abortion bans after six weeks. Most recently, the rightwing governor signed a bill on Monday that defunds diversity, equity and inclusion programs across the state’s public colleges.
Updated
Ron DeSantis to launch 2024 presidential bid next week: report
Florida governor Ron DeSantis is set to officially launch his 2024 presidential bid, according to multiple reports citing sources familiar with the matter.
One Republican source told CNN that the Republican governor will file candidacy paperwork next week with the Federal Election Commission and is set to make an official announcement in his home town of Dunedin, Florida, the following week.
Earlier this week, reports emerged that DeSantis is poised to sign a bill that would modify a Florida law and allow him to run for president while serving as governor. The bill is also expected to impose new voting restrictions across Florida and will make it increasingly difficult for non-profits to conduct voter registration drives.
Last Saturday, DeSantis rolled out a hefty list of endorsements from Iowa lawmakers and visited the crucial early-voting state in an attempt to garner support for his likely bid.
Here are other developments in US politics:
Dianne Feinstein, the oldest serving senator, has prompted renewed scrutiny over her fitness to serve following her return to Capitol Hill after a months-long absence due to shingles.
California representative Adam Schiff said he is “not backing down” in the face of a Republican-led effort to expel him from Congress.
The Pentagon leaks suspect was warned repeatedly about his mishandling of classified material, according to prosecutors.
